First National Bank, Box 1547. Access code is Dad’s birthday plus Betines. Go tomorrow morning when it opens. Inside is everything Miller needs tonight. Stay somewhere unexpected. They’ll check hotels under your name and credit cards. The password for the USB. Carrots and cabbages 2016. Be careful, Mom. These people have resources and connections everywhere. Trust your instincts.
I memorized the contents before tearing the note into tiny pieces and disposing of them in separate trash bins throughout the library. The key went into the small zippered pocket inside my handbag alongside the USB drive.
As I returned to the children’s section, a movement near the elevator caught my attention. A man in a dark suit speaking quietly into his wrist, his eyes scanning the floor with methodical precision.
My pulse quickened. They had found us more quickly than I’d anticipated. Bettany was still engrossed in the picture books, unaware of the danger. I approached her casually, bending down as if to see her selection.
“We need to leave now through the back stairs,” I whispered, gesturing toward the emergency exit at the far end of the floor. “Remember, we’re still playing our game. Walk normally but quickly.”
Her eyes widened slightly, but she nodded, clutching Mr. Carrots tighter as we moved between the shelves, using the library’s layout to obscure our path from the man by the elevator.
The emergency exit opened onto a stairwell that descended all the way to the basement level. We hurried down. The sound of our footsteps echoing despite my attempts at quietness. At the bottom, a service corridor led to a loading dock where library staff were unloading boxes from a delivery van.
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